Installation appliance and installation system comprising one such installation appliance

ABSTRACT

An installation appliance and an installation system including at least one installation appliance are proposed, which respectively ensure rational wiring with simple device(s) for connectable devices including a given number of current paths. To this end, the installation appliance can be brought into contact—by different-sided connection channels—with a device, another device, or a third device including a respectively predeterminable number of current paths. The current conduction of at least one of the current paths can be influenced by way of an appliance unit.

This application is the national phase under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of PCTInternational Application No. PCT/EP2004/000811 which has anInternational filing date of Jan. 29, 2004, which designated the UnitedStates of America and which claims priority on European PatentApplication number EP 03003446.6 filed Feb. 14, 2003, the entirecontents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The invention generally relates to an installation appliance and/or aninstallation system including at least one installation appliance.

BACKGROUND

WO 99/23737 discloses a modularly constructed load branch composed of abranch assembly and a base lower part with integrated line and/or bussections. In this case, the base lower part can be extended to form amodular carrier system with a line and bus system by adding on andmaking contact with further structurally identical base lower parts forreceiving further branch assemblies or input or output assemblies.

SUMMARY

An object of at least one embodiment of the present invention is tospecify an installation appliance and/or an installation systemcomprising at least one installation appliance. As such, efficientwiring via simple devices for connectable devices having a given numberof current paths may be achieved.

In at least one embodiment, on the basis of the installation appliancehaving a predeterminable number of connection channels, which can becontact-connected to corresponding current paths of different devicesboth at a first appliance location and at a second appliance locationand are in each case provided for a current flow, what may be achievedwith at least one appliance unit of at least one embodiment is that thecurrent flow can be influenced, depending on the application, in thesense of a planned leading out and/or forwarding of the respectiveconnection channel of the appliance unit. In this case, possiblyunassigned current paths of the connectable devices can be used and anefficient—taking account of the number of current paths—wiring of therespective channels is thereby ensured with simple device(s).

With regard to the installation system in at least one embodimentincluding at least one installation appliance which has apredeterminable number of connection channels, which arecontact-connected to different devices both at a first appliancelocation and at a second appliance location and for their part have apredeterminable number of current paths for a current flow, it isprovided that an appliance unit can be used to influence the currentflow fed in through the current paths of the devices in at least one ofthe connection channels of the appliance unit. In this case, theconnection channels of the appliance unit that can be modified in termsof their current carrying afford a device-side, possibly completeutilization of the current paths, thereby ensuring an efficient, that isto say system-conforming, wiring with simple device(s).

The appliance unit is advantageously embodied as an interface in such away that at least one of the connection channels can be led through, orcan be interrupted, by way of an electrically conductive bridge.Depending on the application, a demand-oriented assignment of thecurrent paths is afforded by the interface, so that on the one hand avariable wiring and on the other hand a high utilization are obtained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention and also advantageous refinements in accordance withfeatures of the further claims are explained in more detail below on thebasis of example embodiments illustrated in the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematically illustrated installation system with aninstallation appliance;

FIGS. 2 and 3 show different embodiments—having an installationappliance—of the installation system with at least one supply componentand distribution component;

FIGS. 4.1 to 4.6 show sections of an installation appliance withdifferent implementations;

FIGS. 5 and 6 show different embodiments of the installation system withimplementations of a distribution component;

FIGS. 7 to 10 show different embodiments—having at least oneinstallation appliance—of an installation system with supply anddistribution components;

FIGS. 11 and 12 show different embodiments of an installation systemwith an evaluation component;

FIGS. 13 and 14 show different embodiments of the installation systemwith an evaluation component and a distribution component.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a schematically illustrated installation system 1 having aninstallation appliance, in particular a logic component 2. The logiccomponent 2 has a predeterminable number of current paths, in particularconnection channels, for example in accordance with the example of FIG.2. The connection channels—also called bridging channels—can becontact-connected both at a first appliance location 3 and at a secondappliance location 4 in the sense of an intermediate arrangement of thelogic component 2 and are in each case provided for a current flow.

In accordance with the present example embodiment, two devices, inparticular supply components 5, having a respectively predeterminablenumber of current paths, in particular supply channels, e.g. inaccordance with FIG. 2, corresponding to the number of connectionchannels are connected to the connection channels of the first appliancelocation 3. The respective supply component 5 is part of a controller 6,in particular stored-program controller (SPC), which is provided with acentral processing unit (CPU) for signal processing.

The supply components 5 have on the one hand sixteen input channelsembodied as supply channels, and on the other hand eight output channelslikewise embodied as supply channels. Accordingly, the respective supplychannels afford a supply of the controller 6 with input signals, on theone hand, and a supply of at least one further device, in particulardistribution component 9, with output signals, on the other hand. Thedistribution component 9 is connected to the connection channels of thelogic component 2 at the second appliance location 4 in the sense of awiring component having a predeterminable number of current paths, inparticular distribution channels, e.g. in accordance with FIG. 2. Viathe distribution channels of the distribution component 9, besides afirst electrical functional component 10 a a second, third and fourthelectrical functional component 10 b to 10 d are fed with a supplyvoltage, in particular auxiliary voltage, of an auxiliary circuit.

The current flow in at least one of the connection channels can beinfluenced by an appliance unit 11 of the logic component 2 that isembodied as a configurable interface. The respective connection channelcan be led through, or interrupted, by way of an electrically conductivebridge 12, so that unassigned supply channels of the supply component 5and/or distribution channels of the distribution component 9 can also beutilized by performing signal leading out and/or signal branching at orin place of the bridge 12 between the respective channels. Additionalsignals can likewise be fed in or tapped off by the supply component 5and/or by the functional components 10 a to 10 d.

In this case, the logic component 2 performs, in the sense of aselection or allocation of current paths, the function of a logicdistributor which ensures a flexible signal distribution from and to thefunctional components 10 a to 10 d. It goes without saying that thelogic component is configurable and can be equipped with bridges priorto incorporation or prior to mounting both intrinsically and as part ofthe installation system 1.

In addition to feeding the auxiliary voltage to the functionalcomponents 10 a to 10 d on the incoming side, provision is made forfeeding in a further supply voltage, in particular main voltage, of amain circuit via a main current feed-in 13 of a connection device 14. Onthe outgoing side, by way of example, a load element or an electricalload 15 is connected to the functional component 10 a via a furtherconnection device 16. The electrical load 15 is embodied as a motor, inparticular three-phase motor.

Both on the incoming side and on the outgoing side the functionalcomponent 10 a has contact elements 17, by way of example, which aredesigned in such a way that mating contact elements 18 of the connectiondevice 14 and further mating contact elements 19 of the furtherconnection device 16 are compatible with one another. Accordingly, onthe one hand, different, possibly modular connection devices can equallybe contact-connected at both connection sides in each case, it beingpossible, on the other hand, to use different connection technologies.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show different embodiments—having the logic component 2 aand 2 b—of the installation system 1 a and 1 b with the supply component5 a and 5 b and the respective distribution component 9 a. The supplycomponent 5 a and 5 b on the one hand comprises an input component 7provided with a series of the supply channels. The supply channels arein this case subdivided into eight input channels E1 to E8 and twocurrent supply channels 1L+ and 1M.

On the other hand, the supply component 5 a and 5 b also has an outputcomponent 8, which is arranged beside the input component 7 and, for itspart, is likewise equipped with a series of supply channels. Theseinclude eight output channels A1 to A8 and two further current supplychannels 2L+ and 2M. The respective current supply channels arecontact-connected via corresponding connection elements 20 a, 20 b.

In accordance with FIG. 2, there are arranged at the supply component 5a, in particular at the input component 7, a connection unit 21 and, inparticular at the output component 8, a further connection unit 22 inthe sense of a front plug-in module for making contact with theindividual supply channels. The connection units 21 and 22 areelectrically conductively connected via a common line 23, which, inaccordance with the example embodiment, is prefabricated and has abundle with two 2×16 cores, to a connection module 24 a, in particularplug-in connection module, that is contact-connected to the logiccomponent 2 a, in the sense of an adapter for continuing the respectivechannels.

In addition to the prefabricated line 23, which can be embodied interalia with bundled individual cores or as a ribbon lead or the like, theconnection units 21, 22 and the connection module 24 a are also embodiedas a prefabricated unit together with the line 23. As an alternative tothis, there is the possibility of wiring the connection module 24 a withthe connection units 21, 22 manually by use of individual cores. In thiscase, the connection units 21, 22 and the connection module 24 a areprovided with plug-in connections that permit convenientcontact-connection. The 32 individual cores or phases are provided halfeach for the input component 7 and a corresponding first part of thelogic distributor 2 a and also for the output component 8 and acorresponding second part of the logic distributor 2 a.

In accordance with FIG. 3, an embodiment variant is shown which makes itpossible, in contrast to the embodiment variant according to FIG. 2, forthe input and output components 7 and 8 with the connection units 21, 22that can be plugged onto them to be electrically conductively connecteddirectly. Thus, this may be done without the use of a connection module,to the logic component 2 b via the line 23.

The connection units 21 and 22 are in each case provided with theconnection elements 20 b, in particular, embodied as multipoleconnection terminals. By way of the connection elements 20 b, inaccordance with the present example embodiment, 20 individual cores orphases, in the sense of the line 23, including the two current supplychannels 1L+, 1M or 2L+, 2M, are individually contact-connected at oneline side. At their other line side, the individual cores are connectedto connection device(s) 25 arranged in the logic component 2 b.

The logic component 2 a and 2 b in accordance with FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 orthe respective appliance unit 11 is provided with contact locations 26for making contact with the bridges 12 in accordance with FIG. 2 or formaking contact with the connection device(s) 25 in accordance with FIG.3. The contact-connection of the bridges 12 is provided between in eachcase two opposite contact locations 26. The connection device(s) 25, bycontrast, are optionally connected to contact locations 26 which areelectrically conductively connected to the supply component 5 a, 5 b inaccordance with FIG. 2, 3 or to the respective distribution component 9a, so that a suitable interconnection can be performed depending on theintended use. In this case, signals can be fed in and/or tapped off atthe corresponding supply component 5 a, 5 b or at the respectivedistribution component 9 a.

In this case, the appliance unit 11 is embodied by way of the bridges 12as an interface in the sense of signal interruption locations. In thiscase, by way of the bridges 12, connection channels corresponding to thesupply channels can on the one hand be released or else enabled orinterrupted. The connection channels are subdivided into eight inputchannels E1 to E8 and two current supply channels 1L+ and 1M, on the onehand, and also into eight output channels A1 to A8 and two furthercurrent supply channels 2L+ and 2M, on the other hand. The logiccomponent 2 a, 2 b in accordance with FIG. 2, 3 is equipped with aplurality of contact location pairs 27 a to 27 c for making contact withfurther connection device(s) 28 a to 28 c via which different supplyvoltages can be fed in or tapped off.

In this case, a first and a second contact location pair 27 a and 27 bare available for a first and for a second supply voltage, respectively,and a third contact location pair 27 c is available for a third supplyvoltage. It goes without saying that the magnitude of the supplyvoltages can be set in accordance with the given system requirements.The third supply voltage is passed to corresponding voltage supplychannels U1 and U2. In accordance with the example embodiments as shownin FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the connection device(s) 25 and the furtherconnection devices 28 a to 28 c are advantageously designed in modularand detachable fashion, so that various or different connectiontechnologies can be used.

The logic component 2 a, 2 b is intrinsically provided with a housing inthe manner of a module, which has, at the first appliance location 3 andat the second appliance location 4, further contact locations 29 formaking contact with at least one of the supply channels, on the onehand, and at least one of the distribution channels, on the other hand,for at least one of the connection channels. The contact locations 26,the contact location pairs 27 a to 27 c and the further contactlocations 29 are embodied as plug contacts, it being possible, by way ofexample, to provide a contact variant as clamping contact or the like.

In addition to the electrical connection between the supply component 5a, 5 b and the distribution component 9, the logic component 2 a, 2 bcan also be arranged mechanically on one of the components. Thedistribution channels of the distribution component 9 a are subdivided,in accordance with the supply and connection channels, into eight inputchannels E1 to E8 and two current supply channels 1L+and 1M, on the onehand, and also into eight output channels A1 to A8 and two furthercurrent supply channels 2L+ and 2M, on the other hand. It goes withoutsaying that a multiple of the channel levels provided, for example afurther eight, sixteen and/or thirty-two input and/or input channels,and possibly associated current supply channels, may be provided. Thedistribution component 9 a in accordance with the two exampleembodiments according to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 is embodied as an assemblyhaving three regions with a predeterminable structural width oriented tothe structural widths of functional components that can be connected ingridless fashion. The grouping e.g. of the switchgear on thedistribution component 9 a can accordingly be carried out as desiredsince the distribution channels are embodied continuously over thelength of the functional assembly formed by the switchgear. Taps 30 areadvantageously provided on the distribution channels, and electricallyconductively connect the distribution channels to conductor tracks 31.

The conductor tracks 31, which can be embodied as rails, printed circuitboard tracks, individual conductors or else ribbon conductors, lead tothe functional components 10 a to 10 c individually or in a mannerconnected together via connecting locations 32 embodied as plug-inconnections. The functional components 10 a to 10 c are in this caseembodied as motor starter, the functional component 10 a in particularas reversing starter and the functional components 10 b, 10 c inparticular as direct starter. A motor starter has, in particular, acombination of a power circuit-breaker and a contactor. A reversingstarter includes two directions of rotation, and a direct starterincludes one direction of rotation.

At the functional components 10 a to 10 c—here embodied as switchgear—aseries of contacts K1L+ and K2M, KED1 and KED2, KEH, K11 and K12, K21and K22 and also KAD1 and KAD2 are provided in each case completely orpartially, the corresponding conductor tracks 31 being connected to saidcontacts. The contact K1L+ is provided for feedback messages ofauxiliary switches. The contact K2M serves as a common ground connectionfor driving the switchgear. A feedback signal of an auxiliary switchwith regard to the switching state—first direction of rotation or seconddirection of rotation—of the respective switchgear appliance isrespectively output via the contacts KED1 and KED2. Both contacts KED1and KED2 are ultimately connected in each case via conductor tracks andchannels to an input channel of the supply assembly 5 a and 5 b inaccordance with FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.

The function of forwarding a feedback signal of the switching state ofthe power circuit-breaker—tripping or handling—to an input channel ofthe supply assembly 5 is provided by way of the contact KEH. Thecontacts K11, K12 and K21, K22 respectively serve for outputting afurther feedback signal of a first and a second auxiliary break contactfor the first direction of rotation and for the second direction ofrotation, respectively. In accordance with FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, thesecontacts are not connected to a channel of the supply component 5 a, 5b. An electrically conductive connection to contactor coils of therespective switchgear is in each case provided via the contacts KAD1 andKAD2, so that driving for the first direction of rotation or for thesecond direction of rotation can be effected via corresponding outputchannels of the supply component 5 a, 5 b.

FIG. 4.1 to FIG. 4.6 show the installation appliance, in particular ineach case a part of the logic component 2 a, 2 b and/or a part of theappliance unit 11 in accordance with FIGS. 2, 3, with differentimplementations. According to FIG. 4.1, the appliance unit 11 isprovided with an electrically conductive connection 33 arranged betweenthe contact locations 26 of the bridged input channel E3 and thefunctional-component-side contact locations 26 of the unbridged inputchannels E5 and E7 indirectly via the connection device(s) 25.

In this case, the input channels E3, E5 and E7 are electricallyconductively connected, in a manner related to the functional component,to each of the contact KEH of the functional component 10 a, to thecontact KEH of the functional component 10 b and to the contact KEH ofthe functional component 10 c, respectively. The contacts KEH of theschematically illustrated functional components 10 a to 10 c are in eachcase embodied as auxiliary break contacts.

In this case, the possibility of at least one power circuit-breaker ofthe functional components 10 a to 10 c being in the OFF position isadvantageously identified in the sense of a collective message or anaggregate signal. The input channels E5 and E7 which are unassigned as aresult are available for the connection of external device(s).

In FIG. 4.2, two appliance-external functional elements 34 are provided,which are embodied as a sensor, in particular auxiliary switch orcontactless proximity switch. In this case, the auxiliary switch isconnected between one of the contact locations of the first contactlocation pair 27 a indirectly via the associated further connectiondevice(s) 28 a and the supply-component-side contact location 26 of theunbridged input channel E7 indirectly via the connection device(s) 25.

The proximity switch has three outgoing connections, of which, forvoltage supply purposes, the first and second outgoing connections areelectrically conductively connected to the first contact location pair27 a indirectly via the associated further connection device(s) 28 a.The third outgoing connection of the proximity switch is likewiseconnected indirectly, that is to say via the connection device(s) 25, tothe supply-component-side contact location 26 of the unbridged inputchannel E8.

In the case of this embodiment variant, the input channels E7 and E8 inthe logic component 2 a on the part of the distribution component 9 ae.g. in accordance with FIG. 2 are not assigned, so that theabovementioned functional elements 34 can advantageously be connected.The signals occurring in this case are read in via the input component 7e.g. in accordance with FIG. 2 by the controller 6 in accordance withFIG. 1.

In FIG. 4.3, proceeding from the second contact location pair 27 b, theassociated further connection device(s) 28 b and from the unbridgedoutput channels A5 to A8, the functional elements 34, in particularactuators, are provided analogously to the sensors connected to theinput channels E7 and E8 in accordance with FIG. 4.1. The actuators aredesigned in this case as contactor, soft starter, signaling luminaireand possibly as solenoid valve, by way of example. The contactor, inparticular DC contactor, the signaling luminaire and also the solenoidvalve are connected in accordance with the auxiliary switch as shown inFIG. 4.2 and the soft starter is connected in accordance with theproximity switch likewise as shown in FIG. 4.2.

In this case, too, the free output channels A5 to A8 are advantageouslymade usable by the connection of appliance-external actuators.

FIG. 4.4 and FIG. 4.5 respectively show the assignment of a bridged andan unbridged connection channel of the logic component 2 a, 2 b inaccordance with FIGS. 2, 3. According to FIG. 4.4, one of the functionalelements 34 embodied as an auxiliary switch is connected between one ofthe contact locations of the first contact location pair 27 a and one ofthe contact locations 26 of the bridged input channel E3 indirectly inaccordance with FIG. 4.2. The same applies to the auxiliary switch inaccordance with FIG. 4.5, which is connected between one of the contactlocations of the second contact location pair 27 b and one of thecontact locations 26 of the bridged output channel A3 indirectly inaccordance with FIG. 4.3.

In the assignment of the unbridged input channel E5 in accordance withFIG. 4.4 and the unbridged output channel A5 in accordance with FIG.4.5, the respective auxiliary switch is connected between thechannel-identical contact locations 26 indirectly by the connectiondevice(s) 25. Both embodiment variants can advantageously achieve acombination of signals from the functional components 10 a to 10 c or ofcontrol signals of the supply component 5 a e.g. in accordance with FIG.2 with external auxiliary switches. In this case, it is possible toprovide logic AND, OR combinations.

FIG. 4.6 shows an appliance-internal and/or appliance-externalindication device(s) 35 for each interconnection variant. In this case,one of the indication device(s) 35 is on the one hand connected betweenone of the contact locations of the first contact location pair 27 a andone of the contact locations 26 of the bridged input channel E1. Therespective other indication device(s) 35 is on the other hand connectedbetween one of the contact locations of the first contact location pair27 a and the electrically conductive connection 33 that makes contactwith identical-sided contact locations 26 of different unbridged inputchannels E3, E5 and E7. According to these example embodiments, too, thecontact-connections are embodied indirectly via the correspondingconnection device(s) 25.

The electrically conductive connection 33 is advantageously connected tothe connection device(s) 25, which are embodied as modular connectionterminals with a two-conductor connection. A general advantage of thepresent embodiment variant resides in the fact that it is possible tolead out signals from the functional components 10 a to 10 c via thedistribution component 9 a directly from the logic component 2 a and 2 bin accordance with FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. In this case, the signals, giventhe bridged input channel El, are forwarded to the respective supplycomponent 5 a, 5 b and consequently also to the controller 6 inaccordance with FIG. 1. This is not provided for the signals of theinput channels E3, E5 and E7, so that the respectively oppositeconnection device(s) 25 and contact locations 26 are freely available.It goes without saying that the input channels can be interconnected inthe sense of logic AND or OR combinations in accordance with FIGS. 4.4and 4.5.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show different embodiments of the installation system 1 cand 1 d with implementations of the distribution component 9 b and thesupply component 5 a, 5 b in accordance with FIGS. 2, 3. The twoembodiment variants of the installation system 1 c and 1 d differ in theembodiment of the channel wiring between the supply component 5 a and 5b and the logic component 2 a and 2 b in accordance with the embodimentsas shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. The respective distribution component 9 bof the two installation systems 1 c and 1 d has coupling componentsconnected to the distribution channels in the region of the firstfunctional component 10 a, in particular a first and a second couplingrelay 36 a and 36 b, for driving the switchgear. The coupling componentsmay be used, depending on the system requirement, in the distributioncomponent 9 b for individual or a plurality of switchgear of a group ina targeted manner.

The two coupling relays 36 a and 36 b, which can also be embodied aselectronic coupling components, actuate respectively associatedswitching contacts 37 a and 37 b independently of one another. In thiscase, the coils of the first and second coupling relays 36 a and 36 bare jointly connected to the current supply channel 2M, that is to sayto ground, at one connection side. The first output channel A1 isconnected at the other connection side of the first coupling relay 36 aand the second output channel A2 is connected at the other connectionside of the second coupling relay 36 b. The two output channels arepassed to the controller 6 in accordance with FIG. 1 by way of the logiccomponent 2 a, 2 b and the output component 8 and are supplied withsignals by said controller.

The switching contacts 37 a and 37 b are electrically conductivelyconnected to the current supply channel U2 jointly in the sense of acurrent feeding connection. On the outgoing side, the switching contact37 a of the first coupling relay 36 a is led to the contact KAD1 of thefirst functional component 10 a. Analogously, the second switchingcontact 37 b of the second coupling relay 36 b is connected to thecontact KAD2 of the first functional component 10 a. In this case, therespective electric circuit of the first functional component 10 a isclosed by way of taps on the current supply channel U1, the third supplyvoltage being utilized. The third supply voltage is fed in to theassociated third contact location pair 27 c via the further connectiondevice(s) 28 c. Contact is made with the corresponding voltage supplychannels U1 and U2 by way of the further contact locations 29 on thedistribution component side.

The coupling relay 36 a, arranged and connected in the region of thesecond and third functional components 10 b and 10 c, is embodied inaccordance with the abovementioned purpose of use. Only the driving ofthe coupling relays 36 a is effected via the third and fourth outputchannel A3 and A4, respectively. The respective second coupling relay 36can be provided optionally, that is to say depending on the equipment ofthe functional component, in both associated regions. If a start signalis output by the controller 6 in accordance with FIG. 1 for the purposeof switching, the coil of the respective coupling component is driven.

The coupling component consequently switches in the supply voltage viathe drive power of the output component 8, so that the contact KAD1—alsocalled start input—of a motor starter is acted upon. The associatedcontactor is excited and switches in the main voltage for starting oneof the electric motors e.g. in accordance with FIG. 1. It goes withoutsaying that the interconnection variants with the corresponding signalfeedback messages about the respective switching states in accordancewith FIGS. 4.1 to 4.6 can also be used in the embodiments in accordancewith FIGS. 5, 6.

FIGS. 7 to 10 show advantageous configurations of the installationsystem 1 e to 1 h which have different embodiments of the logiccomponent 2 a and 2 c to 2 f, of the supply component 5 a, 5 c and 5 dand also of the distribution component 9 a. FIG. 7 shows an advantageousembodiment variant of the installation system le, two structurallyidentical distribution components 9 a, which, however, are embodiedseparately and in constructionally separated fashion, being connected toa respective structurally identical logic component 2 a in the sense ofa first and a second functional group. The connection channels of onelogic component 2 a are led to the two connection units 22 of the supplycomponent 5 c and 5 d by way of the connection module 24 a and theprefabricated line 23.

Furthermore, the connection channels of the other logic component 2 aare electrically conductively connected to the two connection units 21of the supply component 5 c and 5 d by way of the associated connectionmodule 24 a and the corresponding prefabricated line 23. The connectionunits 21, 22 plugged onto the corresponding supply components 5 c, 5 dare intended for two times eight input channels with regard to the firstfunctional group and for two times eight output channels with regard tothe second functional group. In this case, the topology of the twofunctional groups in each case corresponds to the basic construction ofthe installation system la in accordance with FIG. 2, driving beingprovided by way of the common controller 6 in accordance with FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 shows an advantageous configuration of the installation system 1f, which has two structurally identical and moreover constructionallyconnected distribution components 9 a. The two distribution components 9a are electrically conductively coupled by way of a plug connection 38at corresponding distribution channels with regard to their outputchannels A1 to A8, associated current supply channels 2L+ and 2M andalso the voltage supply channels U1, U2. The lengthening of the currentpaths afforded in this case makes it possible to connect four directstarters and two reversing starters which require in total fourteeninput channels and eight output channels for driving and feedback. In anadvantageous manner, beside the eight output channels the input channelsapart from the two input channels E8 are also assigned. At thedistribution component 9 a and the further distribution component 9 a,one of the logic components 2 c and 2 d is in each case provided in thesense of the first and the second functional group in accordance withFIG. 7, so that the two input channels E8 can also be utilized.

The two logic components 2 c and 2 d in principle have the constructionof the logic component 2 a e.g. in accordance with FIG. 2. In one case,however, all connection channels are unbridged since no connection tothe distribution channels of the associated distribution component 9 ais provided. In the other case, all output channels A1 to A8 areembodied in bridged fashion. The electrically conductive connectionbetween the logic component 2 c and the supply component 5 a is embodiede.g. in accordance with FIG. 2. The same applies to the driving of thelogic component 2 d, which is connected to the supply component 5 c,only eight input channels being required. The further eight inputchannels of the supply component 5 c are available for free utilizationin the same way as the respective input channel E8 of the logiccomponents 2 a e.g. in accordance with FIG. 7 and also 2 c and 2 d e.g.in accordance with FIG. 8, so that this construction and the resultantlooping through of the signals advantageously reduces the number of freeinput and output channels compared with a construction having twoseparate functional groups.

FIG. 9 shows an advantageous embodiment variant of the installationsystem 1 g, which differs from the embodiment variant in accordance withFIG. 8 by the fact that logic components 2 e reduced in terms of theirnumber of channels are used instead of the two logic components 2 c and2 d according to FIG. 8. In this case, the logic components 2 e areconnected to the respective input channels E1 to E8 and to one of thecurrent supply channels 1L+ of the distribution components 9 a. Theelectrically conductive connection between the logic component 2 e andthe supply component 5 a is embodied in principle e.g. in accordancewith FIG. 2, but a connection module 24 b divided into two parts isused. The first part is connected to the logic component 2 e and thesecond part is directly connected to the distribution component 9 a.

The contact-connection of the voltage supply channels U1 and U2 canpossibly be obtained by way of a separate module 39. The connection ofthe logic component 2 e to the supply component 5 c is embodied e.g. inaccordance with FIG. 8. The further eight input channels of the supplycomponent 5 c are advantageously available for free assignment in thesame way as the respective input channel E8 of the logic components 2 e.As a result of the subdivision, the modules turn out to be small andcost-effective and can be used as needed, so that no overcapacitiesarise.

FIG. 10 shows a further advantageous configuration of the installationsystem 1 h, which is based on the embodiment variant in accordance withFIG. 9. A first difference is that the connection module 24 b dividedinto two parts is directly connected to the distribution channels of thedistribution component 9 a both at the input channel level and at theoutput channel level, so that one logic component 2 e in accordance withFIG. 9 can be obviated.

The two distribution components 9 a furthermore have for the inputchannel E8, inter alia, the plug connection 38 by way of whichindividual or a plurality of input and/or output channels of thedistribution components 9 a can be lengthened. A further difference isgiven by the fact that instead of the logic component 2 e in accordancewith FIG. 9, in the present example embodiment the logic component 2 fis connected, in the case of which the input channels E7 and E8 areprovided for contact-connection of external device(s). It goes withoutsaying that the interconnection variants in accordance with FIGS. 4.1 to4.6 and the designs of the distribution components in accordance withFIGS. 5, 6 can also be used in the embodiments in accordance with FIGS.7 to 10.

FIGS. 11 to 14 show advantageous configurations of the installationsystem 1 i to 11 which in each case have a third device, in particularevaluation component 40. The evaluation component 40 is connected with apredeterminable number of evaluation channels between the distributioncomponent 9 c, 9 d and the logic component 2 g, 2 h via a pluginterface. The logic component 2 g in accordance with FIG. 11 and FIG.13 is embodied e.g. in accordance with the logic component 2 a inaccordance with FIG. 2, the eighth input channel E8 also being providedwith a bridge 12. The same applies analogously to the logic component 2h in accordance with FIG. 12 and FIG. 14, which is based e.g. on thelogic component 2 b in accordance with FIG. 3.

Accordingly, in the case of FIGS. 11 and 13, an indirect wiring by wayof the connection module 24 a in the sense of an adapter for continuingthe respective channels is afforded for example in accordance with FIG.2. Furthermore, the embodiments in accordance with FIG. 12 and FIG. 14provide a direct connection by the connection elements 20 b e.g. inaccordance with FIG. 3.

The advantageous implementations of the distribution components 9 c and9 d in accordance with FIGS. 11 and 12 and, respectively, 13 and 14 ineach case have a safety circuit with safety channels S1, S2 and, at thecomponent end, in each case a circuit bridge 41, in particular terminal.The circuit bridge 41 serves on the one hand as a connecting piece andon the other hand as a spacer for external switchgear to be linked in.The safety channel S2 is looped via the contacts K11, K12 and possiblyK21 and K22 of the respective auxiliary break contacts of the functionalcomponents 10 a to 10 c. At the functional components 10 b and 10 cforming the functional group, external auxiliary switches canadditionally be integrated into the safety circuit—also called feedbackcircuit. The safety channels S1 and S2 are finally led to contactlocations 29 of the evaluation component 40, which monitors thefunctional components 10 a to 10 c, in particular switchgear, foroperational reliability by way of an evaluation unit 42.

Operational reliability includes, inter alia, the switching function ofa contactor of the functional components 10 a to 10 c. The auxiliarybreak contact integrated in the contactor is designed as a positivelydriven contact, the switching state thereof being interrogated by theevaluation component 40. If voltage is not applied to the functionalcomponents 10 a to 10 c, in particular the respective contactors, andthe auxiliary break contacts are accordingly closed in a constrainedmanner, the evaluation component 40 enables the functional group forswitch-on by way of an internal enabling circuit IFK.

In addition to the internal enabling circuit IFK having an auxiliarymake contact 43 for enabling the respective contactors, an internalenabling circuit EFK is provided, in particular in floating fashion, aspart of the evaluation component 40. The external enabling circuit EFKserves, by way of a further auxiliary make contact 44, for enablingfurther switchgear that can be arranged externally. Both the internaland external enabling circuit IFK and EFK, respectively, are acted uponsynchronously by the evaluation unit 42—embodied as an electronic modulehere. In addition to the safety circuit, a two-channel EMERGENCY OFFcircuit NAK is provided for the evaluation component 40.

If an EMERGENCY OFF command is generated via one of the two EMERGENCYOFF channels, for example by way of an EMERGENCY OFF switch, this stateis detected by the evaluation unit 42. The evaluation unit 42 acts onthe auxiliary make contact 43 and on the further auxiliary make contact44 of the internal and external enabling circuits IFK and EFK, so thatthe latter are opened. The auxiliary make contact 43 of the internalenabling circuit IFK is advantageously linked into one of the evaluationchannels—here the ground channel—which serves for leading through thecurrent supply channel 2M. The functional components 10 a to 10 c thatare fed by the current supply channel 2M, inter alia, are accordinglyswitched inactive by the interruption of the electric circuit. Theevaluation unit 42 detects the state change in the safety circuit and,by way of an internal signaling circuit MK, outputs an alerting signalvia an evaluation channel—corresponding to the input channel E8—to thesupply component 5 a, 5 b, in particular to the input component 7thereof.

In FIGS. 13 and 14, the respective distribution components 9 d, in anadvantageous configuration, likewise have the coupling relays 36 a, 36 be.g. in accordance with FIGS. 5 and 6. It goes without saying that theinterconnection variants in accordance with FIGS. 4.1 to 4.6 can also beused in the embodiments in accordance with FIGS. 13, 14.

The embodiments of the invention explained above may be summarized asfollows:

In order to specify an installation appliance and an installation system1, 1 a-1 l comprising at least one installation appliance 2, 2 a-2 hwhich respectively ensure an efficient wiring with simple device(s) forconnectable devices having a given number of current paths, it isprovided that the installation appliance 2, 2 a-2 h can becontact-connected, at different-sided connection channels, to a device5, 5 a-5 d, a further device 9, 9 a-9 d or a third device 40 each havinga predeterminable number of current paths, in which case the currentflow in at least one of the current paths 1L+, 1M, E1-E8 or 2L+, 2M,A1-A8 can be influenced by way of an appliance unit 11.

Example embodiments being thus described, it will be obvious that thesame may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regardedas a departure from the spirit and scope of the present invention, andall such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art areintended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

1. An installation appliance, comprising: a predeterminable number ofcurrent paths, contact connectable both at a first appliance locationand at a second appliance location provided for a current flow; adevice, at one of the appliance locations having a predeterminablenumber of current paths, connectable to the connection channels; afurther device, at the respective other appliance location having arespectively predeterminable number of current paths and connectable tothe connection channels; and an appliance unit, to influence the currentflow in at least one of the current paths.
 2. The installation applianceas claimed in claim 1, wherein the appliance unit is configured as aninterface in such a way that at least one of the connection channels isat least one of leadable through and, interruptable via an electricallyconductive bridge.
 3. The installation appliance as claimed in claim 1,further comprising contact locations for making contact with at leastone connection device for at least one of the connection channels. 4.The installation appliance as claimed in claim 3, further comprising anelectrically conductive connection between a contact location of abridged connection channel and at least one contact location of anunbridged connection channel.
 5. The installation appliance as claimedin claim 1, further comprising further contact locations for makingcontact with one of the supply channels on the one hand, and one of thedistribution channels on the other hand, for at least one of theconnection channels.
 6. The installation appliance as claimed in claim1, further comprising at least one contact location pair for makingcontact with at least one further connection device via which differentsupply voltages can be at least one of fed in and can be tapped off. 7.The installation appliance as claimed in claim 3, further comprising amodular, detachable design of the at least one connection device.
 8. Theinstallation appliance as claimed in claims 3, wherein a design of thecontact locations of the contact location pair is at least one of a plugand clamping contacts.
 9. The installation appliance as claimed in claim3, further comprising a functional element, connectable between at leastone of the contact locations of the contact location pair and one of thecontact locations of an unbridged connection channel.
 10. Theinstallation appliance as claimed in claim 9, further comprising aconnection of the functional element between contact locations of anunbridged connection channel.
 11. The installation appliance as claimedin claim 3, further comprising a connection of the functional elementbetween one of the contact locations of the contact location pair andone of the contact locations of a bridged connection channel.
 12. Theinstallation appliance as claimed in claim 3, further comprising atleast one indication device, connectable between one of the contactlocations of the contact location pair and an electrically conductiveconnection that makes contact with identical-sided contact locations ofdifferent unbridged connection channels.
 13. The installation applianceas claimed in claim 12, further comprising a connection of the at leastone indication device between one of the contact locations of thecontact location pair and one of the contact locations of a bridgedconnection channel.
 14. An installation system, comprising: at least oneinstallation appliance, including a predeterminable number of currentpaths, which are contact connectable both at a first appliance locationand at a second appliance location and provided for a current flow; adevice, connectable to the connection channels at one of the appliancelocations and including a predeterminable number of current paths; afurther device, connectable to the connection channels at the respectiveother appliance location and including a predeterminable number ofcurrent paths; and an appliance unit, to influence the current flow inat least one of the current paths.
 15. The installation system asclaimed in claim 14, further comprising a third device, connectablebetween the installation appliance with connection channels and thefurther device with distribution channels and including apredeterminable number of evaluation channels.
 16. The installationsystem as claimed in claim 14, wherein the appliance unit is configuredas an interface in such a way that at least one of the connectionchannels can be at least one of lead through, interrupted, via anelectrically conductive bridge.
 17. The installation system as claimedin claim 14, further comprising contact locations for making contactwith at least one connection device for at least one of the connectionchannels.
 18. The installation system as claimed in claim 17, furthercomprising an electrically conductive connection between a contactlocation of a bridged connection channel and at least one contactlocation of an unbridged connection channel.
 19. The installation systemas claimed in claim 14, further comprising further contact locations formaking contact with one of the supply channels on the one hand, and oneof the distribution channels on the other hand, for at least one of theconnection channels.
 20. The installation system as claimed in claim 14,further comprising at least one contact location pair for making contactwith at least one further connection device via which different supplyvoltages can be at least one of fed in and tapped off.
 21. Theinstallation system as claimed in claim 17, having a modular, detachabledesign of the at least one connection device.
 22. The installationsystem as claimed in claim 19, having a design of the contact locationsas at least one of plug and clamping contacts.
 23. The installationsystem as claimed in claim 16, further comprising a functional element,connectable between at least one of the contact locations of the contactlocation pair and one of the contact locations of an unbridgedconnection channel.
 24. The installation system as claimed in claim 23,further comprising a connection of the functional element betweencontact locations of an unbridged connection channel.
 25. Theinstallation system as claimed in claim 23, further comprising aconnection of the functional element between one of the contactlocations of the contact location pair and one of the contact locationsof a bridged connection channel.
 26. The installation system as claimedin claim 17, further comprising at least one indication deviceconnectable between one of the contact locations of the contact locationpair and an electrically conductive connection that makes contact withidentical-sided contact locations of different unbridged connectionchannels.
 27. The installation system as claimed in claim 27, comprisinga connection of the at least one indication device between one of thecontact locations of the contact location pair and one of the contactlocations of a bridged connection channel.
 28. The installation systemas claimed in claim 14, further comprising a connection unit arranged atthe supply component, which connection unit is electrically conductivelyconnected via a line to a connection module, arranged at least one of atthe logic component, at the distribution component and at the evaluationcomponent, in the sense of an adapter for continuing the respectivechannels.
 29. The installation system as claimed in claim 28 wherein adesign of the connection unit includes connection elements that areelectrically conductively connected via the line directly to the atleast one connection device of at least one of the logic component, thedistribution component and the evaluation component.
 30. Theinstallation system as claimed in claim 29, having a prefabricatedconfiguration of at least one of the line, the connection unit and theconnection module.
 31. The installation system as claimed in claim 14,further comprising at least one coupling relay, assignable to thedistribution component and connectable to the distribution channelsthereof and provided for applying one of the supply voltages to at leastone functional component.
 32. The installation system as claimed inclaim 31, having a grid-free arrangement of at least one of thefunctional components at the distribution channels.
 33. The installationsystem as claimed in claim 31, having at least one further distributioncomponent, coupleable to the distribution component.
 34. Theinstallation system as claimed in claim 31, further comprising at leastone of an emergency off circuit and safety circuit for one or moreswitches which is integrated in the distribution component.
 35. Theinstallation system as claimed in 34, further comprising an evaluationunit integrated in the evaluation component, which evaluation unit, in amanner dependent on the at least one of emergency off circuit and safetycircuit, influences at least one of a signaling circuit, an internalenabling circuit and an external enabling circuit.